Paula Badosa nearly retired from tennis in 2024, beating Gauff in straight sets to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal.

An “emotional” Paola Badosa dashed world number three Coco Gauff’s dream of a maiden Australian Open title with a shock 7-5, 6-4 victory in the Melbourne quarter-finals.

Badosa reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in her career on Tuesday in a match that lasted one hour and 43 minutes, becoming the first since Garbine Muguruza in Melbourne in 2020. Spanish women in Grand Slam semi-finals.

“I’m a little emotional,” said Badosa, who will face either her close friend and two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova) competes for a spot in the finals.

“I’m a very emotional person. I wanted to play my best game. I think I did.

“I’m very proud of my performance today.”

The No. 11 seed failed to crack the top 100 a year ago due to a stress fracture in her back, setting the stage for her return to tennis.

“I mean, a year ago I came here with back pain and I didn’t know if I was going to have to retire from the sport, and now here I am competing against the best in the world,” Badosa said explain.

Third-seeded Gauff is unbeaten in nine matches this season but beat Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic in the last 16 after losing the first set in 2025.

Badosa started aggressively, putting Gauff’s serve under pressure early in the first set.

Uncharacteristically, the American failed to create any break points in the first set and committed numerous unforced errors throughout the match.

Gauff is far from her offensive best, but said she feels more positive than she did after losing to compatriot Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the U.S. Open.

“Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m on an upward trajectory,” Goff told reporters after the game.

“I know what I need to do.

“I’m obviously disappointed, but I’m not completely devastated.”

Meanwhile, men’s second seed Alexander Zverev defeated Tommy Paul 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-1 to seal his spot in the semi-finals .

Zverev, who was warned for being disturbed by a bird feather in the quarter-finals, is one of the favorites to win.

The German fell behind in the second set, but Paul saved two break points. When the game was in the balance, referee Nacho Fourcader saw a white feather fall into Zverev’s eyeline when the German player took the pole, so he awarded a penalty and ordered a replay of one point.

“What? A feather? There are millions of people on the court,” Zverev said as he held up the feather and approached the referee.

Zverev paused briefly as he grabbed the net and then went back to work, but Paul quickly held serve.

The world number two will face the winner of the quarter-final clash between ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz. who.